Brother, Can You Spare a Crumb?- RYME Youth Skolaz Report on Budget Genocide

Tiny - Posted on 25 July 2011

Author:

Youth, Poverty, Elder and Indigenous Scholars @ RYME & PeopleSkool

Brother can you spare me a crumb?

The Following reports on budget genocide were written by the Revolutionary Youth Media Education (RYME) Skolaz at POOR Magazine who attended the Bake Sale for Critical Services at City Hall in San Francisco and interviewed David Campos, SF Board Supervisor.

From Kamaria, 14

I am kamariashanndoah and I am 14 years old.

Do you think that the budget cuts are okay? Before you answer that question I’d like to explain what budget cuts REALLY are. Budget cuts effect the whole economy in many ways. 1000’s of people are being laid of from their jobs because of budget cuts. More than 8 million dollars have been cut during budget cuts. On Thursday June 23rd 2011, there was a bake sale titled “ Brother, Can You Spare Me A Crumb? “ on the city hall steps

On that day I got the chance to ask David Campos , a progressing supervisor who represents district 9 on the board of supervisors , what he felt about budget cuts . He feels that “ budget cuts are effecting the whole economy because stoping people from doing certain things that they like. “ he said that depending on what is cut, it could really hurt the economy and our city.

Examples of the cuts are that there was a 1,993,969 dollar budget cut from the human service agency , a 3,643,718 dollar reduction from the heath department , 579,264 dollars was cut from the department of aging and adult services, and 2,308,414 was reduced from the department of children family and youth. Now why would the government want to take money from the health department? There are millions of people who need health services every single day. If budget cuts keep being made to areas like health , children and family , schools , and elders then are whole economy will continue to decline slowly.

In conclusion, now what do you think about budget cuts? Im pretty sure you changed yout mind now that you know what budget cuts REALLY are. I don’t think that budget cuts are okay and they never will be.

From Tatyana, 15

These budget cuts are terrorizing people in many ways. People who are tired of being in the governments choke-hold.

On 6/21/11 me and my fellow poverty scholars had the chance to interview big men in suits, one was named David Campos, he is a progressive supervisor,who kept things going for the poor people in poverty, but he couldn’t say so much for his fellow supervisor friends. He helps the people of district nine well.

The way I feel about budget cuts is in schools is less opportunities. I am Tatyana, im 15 years old and im in high school. I have not yet seen the massive budget cuts at my school yet because there wasn’t much to begin with. In schools, budget cuts are hard on students and parents. To have budget cuts means no bus rides, no free lunches, no art, cooking or band class, and sometimes its down to pink slips to teachers.

The budget cuts at the brother can you spare a crumb protest were about…. Senior services, houseless services, health services, children services.

In senior services they are cutting $122,419 cut from senior centers and activity for adults with disabilities. In housing they are eliminating funding for eviction prevention and other legal services for over 1,000 public housing tenants.In health services they are proposing 16% reduction from the homeless. In children health services both childcare and after-school centers including beacon centers reduced. And the violence prevention efforts reduced to 54 programs serving at-risk youth by over $1,000,000.

I learned that if we don’t start taking these budget cuts seriously and start standing together to the board of supervisors and the mayor, then we will lose the true value of school, learning, and lose our future to make good memories.

From Rashida, 12,

I am RashidaTalibah Banks Reed and I go to public school and I am 12 years old.

How Budget cuts effect me in a way because teachers at my school are getting laid off and more children are trying to get in my school and they cannot because the teachers are getting laid off, and now there are less teachers.

Me and my posse went to a bake sale at city hall in San Francisco on June 21st and there was people that were protesting about the budget cuts.

The cuts include

$900,000 in cuts to supportive housing takes money out of SSI retro checks for CAAP recipients to cover shelter costs

Elimination of two job training programs for homeless and formerly homeless people

A variety of cuts to transitional housing for youth and families

As you can see budget cuts can make you lose your job and may lose your housing and many other things. So don’t Mess with budget cuts

!

From Ya’mil, 12

Budget cuts are just excuses for not getting people off the streets. The government wastes the money killing people in other countries. the government lays people off but they don’t put the money to a good cause like getting people off streets or giving people money who needs it for homes.

I am Yamil Chambers and I am 12 years old. I am a student in middle school. budget cuts affect me by cutting classes in school. When budget cuts interact with schools it also takes books from classrooms

The event was a bake sale at city hall. the bake sale was done to prevent cuts to critical services. Some examples were a cut to the Department of aging and adult services of this money $579,264 reduction

As you can see that budget cuts or the government shows no mercy for anyone not even your children the people the government cares for nobody but them selves. This should provoke people to take budget cuts more seriously .now heed my warning be cautious how you deal with budget cuts.

...the way these brainwashed kids are being exploited by the leftist media. Especially telling is the statement by 15 year old Tatyana that "These budget cuts are terrorizing people in many ways. People who are tired of being in the governments choke-hold." Tatyana, what you need to realize is that it is the tax-paying, productive members of society who are tired of being in the government's choke-hold. If you are lucky enough to escape the culture of victimhood that your elders both perpetuate and are trapped in, you will see that for yourself, someday. In the meantime, it is encouraging that you at least know that "scholar" is not spelled "skolah."